The Philippine Literary Festival 2014

19 October 2014

On my fourth month with ARC PR, my boss Jenny took me to a meeting with a potential client where she said, "We have to do things that move our hearts." when she was talking about one of her passion projects. That quote has stuck with me since then and has been a constant driving force in my life, and so far I know I'm in the right path. (Incidentally, it is also her birthday today. Happy birthday, Jenny!)

That is the quote that was running in my mind when I asked her and my other boss Celine for a two day-leave from work on October 23 and 24. For what, you ask? For this:

The Philippine Literary Festival is a three-day conference filled with book signings, discussions, and panels about books and literature. Think Comic Con and music festivals, but with books and authors. Huge thanks to National Bookstore for making this possible! The highlight of the three-day event is the Author Spotlight on Amy Tan and Chang-rae Lee on Saturday where they will also sign books. It will be held on October 23 to 25 at Raffles Makati and admission is free! You have to come early though, as they do not offer pre-registration and venue capacities are limited. You may view the full schedule of the different panels and speakers here.

My dilemma is that there are a lot of interesting panels sharing the same time slot that I wish I can divide myself so I can go to all of them! Having a Time-Turner may be a better option, if only it were possible to have one. For example: Poetry Jamming and Pushing the Envelope: Trends in New Philippine Writing share the 9:00 - 10:30 AM slot of October 23 while Speculative Fiction: Why Libraries Must Have Them and Writing Non-Fiction Today are happening on 11 AM to 12 PM. The 1:30 to 3 PM slot is the worst, as I would have to choose among Buqo: Publishing in the New Millennium, The Science of Magazine Covers, and Summit Books: Writing Romance! Why why why must I need to be interested in all three? Why why why must they all be scheduled to happen at the same time?

I guess I have until Wednesday night to decide and figure out the panels I will go to. One thing's for sure, though. I will be at Manix Abrera's Book Launch of his newest silent comics titled 14! As you know, I am a HUGE fan and I can't wait to buy his book and have him sign it!

It is my fervent wish to publish my own work so I'm sure it will do me a lot of good to be there. It would also be a great place to meet people with similar interests and a viable venue to expand my professional network but I'm terribly shy and scared of people so I don't know how that will work. Please cross your fingers for me!

I feel guilty that I will be gone from the office for two days, especially since Friday will be particularly busy as one of our clients has a show for Philippine Fashion Week and the team needs to take care of our guests from the press, but I absolutely, cross my heart hope to die, can't miss this. I will just have to make sure that I take care of all my tasks and responsibilities before I leave the office Wednesday night. Not everyone can say they have bosses that let them do things that feed their soul, so I am really lucky to have bosses who are big proponents of this.

Are you going to The Philippine Literary Festival, too? Which panels are you most excited for?